Reviews (page 2 of 8)
Mafioso rap 1995., Wu-tang Clan Knuckleheadz Criminology Wisdom body
All the voices make dis joint a little disjointed.
The fuck is this shit?
This album is a phenomenal listen - great artistry, great lyricism, great beats. Wordplay and flow were both everything I could ask for. I’ve never heard of this artist before but this album was definitely a 90s hip hop album worth a listen to before I die. Super strong ending too - not as a song but to close the album it’s near perfect Favs Criminology Ice Water Verbal Intercourse Wu-Gambinos
Very okay album, not my style but nothing wrong with it either
Surprised by how much I liked this one. Definitely felt like it was back heavy on the good stuff, but that could just be the environment in which I was listening. The flow was just SO good. I was so into how the words ran together. Not sure what else it needs to be a 5 star for me, but it fell short in something and I need to reflect more on what it was missing. Big fan of everything from rainy dayz onward, with my favorites being verbal intercourse and spot rusherz.
Raekwon (and the rest of the Clan) is in peak form here. RZA is an absolute magician on the mix, and he fills your ears to the brim with grit and dust (complimentary). His beats completely immerse you in that Wu-Tang sound, and it sucks you right into a world full of smoke and crime and kung-fu movies. Raekwon and Ghostface bounce off each other like Batman and Robin (Batman and Batman?), and their synergy brought a whole new level to mylistening experience. I was completely captivated when they were going at 100% The lyrics are a bit corny at times, but the rapping is top notch. The lyricism and flow are strong points of this album, even if that's what you expect from this cast of characters. Where the album starts to falter for me is the narrative strength on the macro level. I understood the the rough outlines of a mafia crime story, but the song-to-song storytelling didn't provide a strong throughline. This album also rambles for a little longer than it should. The hour-plus runtime was peppered with bloat. There was a bit of a slow start, and the skits -- while a ubiquitous part of the genre, and serving as nice setups to some tracks -- should have been edited for brevity. Take out the first 3 songs and cut down the skits and you're cooking with gas. Still, despite the weaknesses, this is a damn good album. Immersive and dark and energetic, I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the first proper WTC album. 7/10. I'll round up to 4 here because this ain't a 3 star album. Song notes: - My first introduction to this album was actually an episode of the Boondocks I watched with Jamie in junior year (Guillotine) - The Nas feature on Verbal Intercourse is so damn good wheeeeew. - Method Man was a great Alfred to Raekwon and Ghostface's Batman & Robin in Ice Cream, but he was clearly the 3rd best rapper in the room imo - The 3-song run to end the album is really strong. North Star is probably my favorite track on this album, and listening felt like riding off on a luscious cloud, Raekwon was at his best here. Favorites: - Criminology - Incarcerated Scarfaces - Rainy Dayz - Guillotine - Verbal Intercourse - Ice Cream - Heaven & Hell - North Star
It's a hip-hop classic for a reason. The only reason this is not 5 stars is because the length of the album dulls its effect in my opinion. That being said, I must give credit for the incredible consistency from track to track despite the length. You just don't hear albums like this in modern hip-hop where, the production, the features, the wordplay, and the verses are all top notch through 18 tracks as they paint this picture of the mafia lifestyle but from a streets perspective. I enjoyed the movie samples to begin many of the tracks as they foreshadow the direction of each so they precede. Raekwon and Ghostface Killer murder every verse on every track. The true definition of iron sharpening iron comes alive with their chemistry throughout the record. GFK's delivery is so powerful and energetic, Rae's is more calculated and toned down, but every bit as lethal. RZA also was on top of his game seamlessly pairing different loops and sounds with the iconic 90s boom-bap beat. Fav Song Notes Knuckeheads - The flows from Rae, GFK, and U-God on each of their verses are immaculate. Rae & GFK deliver classic gangster, mafioso verses over a boom-bap beat paired with a piano loop. There are so many nasty bars I'll just put my favs from this and one other track. Rae -"Lay on the crime scene, sipping fine wines, pulling nines on UFO's taking they fly clothes, they eyes closed. "Yo I told you some killed, robbed and fold, the goals untold, fuck it it beats parole." GFK - Lead singer hum dinger, flash is the aftermath, here's his photograph. Run up in his lab, take of the mask, Chas, and think fast. Don't laugh, bag the cash, grab the hash, don't forget his stash. Grab the tear gas and place it in his face at full blast." Ice Water - Nasty nasty nasty verses from Cappadonna and Rae while painting a picture of a plan to take out a mafia boss, but this plot doesn't come to pass in the record. Oh and I must mention RZA's genius again with another ice cold beat while The Wu members shine. GFK bar - "The God's tropical, ladies call me black fruit punch. Rainbow flavor niggas murder niggas for lunch." Incarcerated Scarfaces - The movie sample to begin is bone chilling. Rae proceeds to deliver what I think are is best verses on the album. The flow switch up in the third verse, witty bars in the second verse. He flexes his lyricism and wordplay on this song. Verbal Intercourse - Nas' voice is so fuckin smooth ahhhh. He spits one of the purest, intellectual, and filthy verses on this whole album which is impressive in its own right on an album dripping with elite lyricism. Fav Tracks and Rating: - Knuckleheads - Criminology - Incarcerated Scarfaces (Best) - Guillotine - Ice Water -Verbal Intercourse - Wu-Gambinos Rating: Low 9/10
Look, I will be the first person to say that anything Wu-Tang Clan related is overrated, and I didn't enjoy listening to this album, despite it being influential in the Hip-Hop community. With that being said, I've been reading reviews on this website long enough to see the subtle racism. I especially have to chuckle at people giving this album a low rating due to "misogyny", yer, I'm willing to bet these same people praise Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Eric Clapton, and other such figures. If you're going to rate an album low due to misogyny, keep that same energy for white boy music. Favorite Track: "Ice Cream".
Not my favorite post-Wu Tang project. It lacks something but I'm not sure what.
It took me a while to get into it, but once I got what he was going for, I actually really enjoyed this a lot more than I expected to.
maybe 2 is harsh. 3 later? arggfnythdhjygh
Rap, 1995 -> 1
80
Classic
Wutang is life
It’s strange to think that the only thing I could really recognize and appreciate about Only Built 4 Cuban Linx… was how Raekwon and his producers sampled portions of the score and dialogue from John Woo’s The Killer. I hadn’t seen that movie in more than 20 years, but I’d just recently rewatched it, so those samples were still fresh in my memory. I’m sure this is an enjoyable album for people who appreciate the Wu-Tang Clan and their sprawling projects throughout the ’90s and ’00s. I can certainly recognize that the talent is here. Unfortunately, this just wasn’t for me. Additionally, at nearly 75 minutes, the whole thing feels considerably longer than it needs to be.
Typical 90s rap album. Posturing, misogyny, drugs, money, gun violence, and subpar music underneath. I don't think this would be my jam even in an alternate universe.
*1995. *Albums do NOT need to be 73 minutes. *So I guess Raekwon was in Wu-Tang, as was Ghostface Killer who is featured on most songs. *Really nice flow, even though I didn't understand any of the lyrics. RATING - 6.5/10
Not super familiar with the Wu Tang boys but I generally like the 90s style hip hop. Probably because I listened to most of the first half of the record through a car stereo but I found the bass was really dominating the mix and at times struggled to hear the vocals.
Only built 3 Cuban linx
Couldn't relate to lyrics, probably wouldn't listen again, but ultimately vived with it. Seemed like fairly decent workout music and helped me to keep pushing myself. Can't explain it
Enjoyed the harder sounding tracks. This was quite a long record, and I felt like the boom bap sound was getting a little boring. Favourite Track(s): Wisdom Body, Criminology Least Favourite Track(s): Rainy Dayz
lifelong wu tang member babyyyyy
Rap really doesn't do a lot for me on the whole although this was listenable.
Not my genre ..... classic nevertheless.....three stars was from my personal preference.....since I am not a sucker of 1990 east coast hip -hop or whatever.....but the production style on this album was good and it helped putting the stepping stone for mafioso rap.....plus I am not from hood it seems as the lyricism was to dense for me with street slangs.....nowatwmesayin'
Noen gode beats. Irriterende skits.
Well… I can officially say I’ve sampled both coasts now. Still waiting for the rap album that converts me!
legal! Meu gosto por rap que atrapalha. mas, musicalmente é legal
Awful
When I'm in a 'greatest hip hop album of all time' competition and my opponent is the 1001 album generator 😳😳😳 I've said it before and I'll say it again, I don't understand why so many of these hip hop albums are regarded as the greatest of all time. Are hip hop fans just that easily impressed? Because I'm not...
Yeah, this is way too long like many albums of this era. Although this is considered the birth of mafioso rap, this just sounded like your typical gangsta rap to my ears. This is designed to play like a film, and I did appreciate small things like the strings that made parts of this feel rather cinematic. Raekwon is starring star, but I was more impressed by Ghostface Killah's aggressive bars. I appreciate the ambition and didn't hate this, but I don't think I'll be rushing back to giving this any full listens again anytime soon.
I've liked this more than the spate of other Wu-Tang solo releases we've gotten in this list, but only just. The production and lyricism gripped me more, but started losing me around the time they started spamming the f-slur, and ultimately didn't carry through the nearly 75 minutes of the album.
I actually enjoyed a good bit of the first half of the album. I feel like the later tracks included entirely too much talking and it just felt like unnecessary padding. Would be higher rated if it wasn't so damn long
I think this is the first Wu-Tang-adjacent project that really gets my head bopping. Love the properly grimy RZA production as always, plus Raekwon and all of his featured MCs are notably on top of their game. If it doesn't reach the 4-star for me, it's really because of the length. I'm a fan of hip hop, but this is slightly too much grimy mafioso rap for one sitting. Still packs a lot of heat! Standouts: Knuckleheadz • Knowledge God • Incarcerated Scarfaces • Ice Water • Glaciers of Ice • Wisdom Body • Spot Rusherz • Heaven & Hell
I hate to be that person but this is the album that won't go away for me. It's on every best of list, along with every other solo Wu Tang album and I just don't like it. I don't like any of them! I can't distinguish any songs from each other, the production and mastering is so weird (why are the cymbals so LOUD) and of course every single one of these albums is over an hour long. End my suffering!!!!
jaja. gangsta oder so.
Nicht so mein Rap
Oh God. Another west-coast rap legend with a cd full of hate violence and profanity. Still, maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.. < Listens> Nope. More of the same. And like 47 other rap albums on this list.
Wu-Tang Clan's solo careers are mostly pretty impressive, which is the way the group was set up on purpose in the first place. Some of the greatest hip hop albums of the 90s are some of these albums, and of course 36 Chambers itself. But this one just felt a lot less interesting to me. Don't get me wrong, it's still really good, the production, vocals, all that is still great. But it just doesn't really do anything that another Wu-Tang solo album can do better. There's just not a whole lot that makes this one stand out among the rest, it just feels like a pretty generic Wu-Tang solo album. Well, "generic" by their standards, which to be clear is still really good. I do just wish there were a little bit more on this album that made it more memorable.
Alt for mange wu tang adjacent albums på den her liste
Et af de mest grimy hiphop plader jeg har hørt. Lyder som et hjemmelavet bånd (positivt). Lidt for lang men super fed
At least 10 times harder then I've ever felt..
Räppiä, ei mitään erikoisempaa. Taustamusana metalligearisolidia pelaillessa.
Räpti räp. Sitä mitä tilattiin, ei paljoa sanottavaa. WuTang ukko tekee WuTang juttuja.
every song im just bobbing my head back and forth and the storytelling accompanying it is entertaining.
Ugh, I really dislike hardcore rap. This did nothing to change my opinion only reinforces it
Album #223 Raekwon: Only Built 4 Cuban Linx I feel like at this point I should just start copy-and-pasting the same review for all 90s rap albums. Overly long, incredibly corny lyrics, boring flow, but pretty good beats. I was expecting this album to have some real bite to it based on the cover and the Wu-Tang association, but it was a lot more chill than I expected; it was so sombre in fact that I almost fell asleep multiple times. Obviously the fault is on me, but I really just get nothing out of listening to albums like this; the words just entered my ear and immediately left. Maybe if it were a bit less repetitive and a bit less bloated, more would stick with me, but man, was this a slog to get through. It isn’t as offensive to my ears as some of its contemporaries, and the beats were actually pretty good, nothing Guitar Centre level- but it’s just very clearly not for me. Best Song: Guillotine (Can’t even remember any other track standing out) Worst Song: Wu-Gambinos Score out of 10: 4
Bwah, niet mijn ding
Seems like a lot of the tracks blend into each other with similar beats.
This album is crazy good
Utter crap
The beats and sounds in this hip hop/rap album are decent. It was long, as many other albums in this genre are (I think albums in the 40-50 minute range are perfect, personally. Longer and you risk repetition and boredom). Still not my favorite genre, but it wasn't awful.
So there appears to be a running theme, okay two albums, that I like the albums from members of Wu-Tang Clan but not the album by the band. Not sure what that was about but this album is hugely enjoyable.
Not really my bag, baby, but turns out I can enjoy a moderate dose of classic mid-90s rap here and there!?
Long, but good. You know it's going to be a good Clan song when there's karate sound clips. Guillotine stood out. Really like the beats and production on this album. 3.5/5
didn't finish it... but it was cool, reminded me of my old taste in music
5.8/10 = first proper rap album i've got so far so was quite excited to hear something other than bob dylan-esque warbling but lost interest the longer i listened honestly, i liked the instrumentals, samples and production but i kept waiting for the "hit" of the album and i couldn't really differentiate any lol, very 90s too but in a little bit of a parody way
Heard of the Wu-Tang Clan, but really didn’t get much out of this album.
It started out a little muddied in ways that might just not be for me (lots of talking, not much rapping), but I dug it by the end. Ice Cream in particular, I think. It's no 36 Chambers, but what is?
Nope. Not an essential album that must be listened to from the 90s. You know what I mean?
After listening to 36 chambers I was disappointed about this one. I'm not an english speaker so yes if I pay close attention I can understand the rhymes but usually I don't bother so the beats need to carry the music. Which they don't. Every song is one beat / bass line just repeated all over, not enough diversity to enjoy the record. I really tried to listen to it all. I did it in 5 sittings. Still didn't manage to finish. I see the high ratings here and understand some folk really like this - but I have no idea what's there to like.
This was okay. Beats were good, lyrics not overly obnoxious.
No, I would die first.
Welp... Once again, I can appreciate aspects of the talent strewn about this work, but the collective is just ok. I won't be offended if a song or two comes up on shuffle or are a part of the background of my day, but I won't be seeking this one out to experience or dissect again.
Yeah nah
Che bomba di album, chilla e gasa
While I prefer the nerdier side of Wu-Tang (36 Chambers, Liquid Swords), this LP has its moments. The rapping is excellent and most samples work well, but the balance between the vocals and the melodies didn't really work for me. I found that the rapping and the beats were too emphasized in the production, so it was hard to hear the jazzy samples and have that melodic element present in the songs. Also, the conceptual aspect of the album and the lyrical theme kinda fell flat, and the skits were pretty dumb. Still, there's a lot of quality hip-hop in this, and I'll definitely listen to most of the songs again.
It's alright but I just can't get on with the hiphop rap crap. Enough already
I'm so bored with rap now.
Somehow even more generic 90s rap
Raekwon (and Ghost Face) delivers easily on the mic in bars and vocals, but I do think the real magic here is how good RZA’s production for all this is. Every track just has a fantastic base to build off, which it does easily. Now is 70 minutes still a bit of a stretch with this where you’re a bit ready for it to be more varied? Sure, but worse albums have stretched worse than this.
over it before it finished
A lot of same same going on. Lyrics are very basic nonsense.
You know I thought after listen to other rap albums in this list I would enjoy this one, but it’s got no standouts and the only thing I remember is odd flows of rhymes with storyline intermissions.
loved it
Boring af
1/5
Too much one-dimensional machismo for me – too long and repetitive, too many skits, too much homophobia. But I really liked the Black Ivory sample used in Criminology, and Wisdom Body was a welcome change of pace.
Not the sort of sounds I had hoped to be listening to in the car on our way home from a weekend away! For the sake of this whole venture I attempted to listen to some of this nevertheless once home. Since I couldn't get past 15 seconds of the first few tracks without being bombarded with swearing just for the sake of it and as I couldn't understand most of the other words used when dipping into several other tracks (probably fortunately!) I thought "what's the point". I'm clearly the wrong demographic for this sort of audio (I refuse to call it "music"). It gets close to making me physically ill to hear this though so please excuse another low rating and accept that for some people this is just totally off limits.
Okay so here we go with another rap album. Probably the genre I am least familiar with especially ‘ mafioso rap’. So far so good- the lyrics are a bit cliche but I guess they weren’t at the time. The gangster film breaks in the tracks are entertaining if not a little cringe. I can see the concept (an album that’s a movie) and I think it does work. Is it me or is the recording all a little …. Crap? Anyway this album was a bit too long but fun.
One of the records I was told to hear be People Who Know when I was trying to understand rap, but of all the ‘classic’ rap records I find this one hardest to get. I love the beats, frequently love the samples, but it’s tooooo long and all the mafia nonsense in the bits of lyric I understand are boring.
The whole WTC things is one of the best things ever in hip hop, this is no exception 4 star
good, not sure better than other stuff from the same era/group
I really wanted to like this, but just didn't.
Not my genre normally. However, I really enjoyed this. Maybe a tad too long but still very good.
Gangsta rap... Not my thing being white and English. But I suppose, as songs about gun violence go, this was quite good good
Gangsta rap definately isnt my yjing but i enjoyed this one in places. far too much use of the N word for me though
Wednesday, 1 July, 2026 Is this even a question? Rza’s follow up to the utterly transcendent Enter the 36 Chambers is this Raekwon starring masterpiece. The Wu’s ethos and style is never so focused as it is on this album. Phenomenal production. Great lyricism and delivery from the MCs. Easy 5*
Uhh fine I guess, Heaven and Hell was my favorite I suppose
i don't know why but this one took me a really long time to listen to. just wasn't feeling it
none of it stood out to me aside from like 2 of the songs in the middle. A lot of it could be i was in npc mode and wasn't paying attention but
Very repetitive but slick and solid boom bap. Whatever though.
Classic wu tang
There's a fine line between "having a signature style" and "repeating the same formula," and I think this album falls on the wrong side of it. Additionally, cutting about 15 minutes AND the skits would have been better for my personal listening experience. I understand how they add to the "cinematic vision" Rae and RZA had, but even with those, I'm not getting "cinematic" from this at all. For me, even if they took my (uneducated, non-artistic) suggestions, I still don't think this could have done better than three stars for me. Of the solo projects, I'm a Liquid Swords guy. ⭐⭐.51
Not terrible
Дала дала бил ёёе
It was OK. I appreciate Ghostface Killah as a rapper as he steals most tracks. 5.5/10 Top song Criminology
Solid rapping. Great vocals. 3.5
This is one of the classics of the genre and for a good reason. At the time, Wu Tang could not miss and this still sounds great as it did back then.
Yeah naaa not for me
Okay let's hear him out. What even are Cuban links. Oh it's that kinda necklace. Yeah alright. I'll accept it. Is this an intro? I liked the ghostface killer album I got actually. They're just talking over the track they're not really rapping. Oh here we go. Ok yeah. I just don't like intros and outros in songs or albums they take me out of it. Prolly not playlist music for me but I def like it. This is very cool. Favourite: Wisdom Body Least favourite: Striving For Perfection
I didn’t enjoy this. It was really long (over an hour). I really like hip hop, but this is not my kind of hip hop. I didn’t find the songs entertaining.
2/5 Favorite Song: Ice Cream
cooles Album mit Ghostface Killah
Hard
My usual response to East Coast rap. It's fine, not to my taste. Even as a Wu Tang offshoot.
2/10. No me gusta el rap yankee en general, menos si están todo el disco puteando y las bases son medio malas, el peor disco hasta ahora.
Orka ikke hele.
My opinion of rap has not improved through this process and ive found guns and hoes mostly disappointing, so i wasnt excited when this came on. However, this was better than expected. Enough quality production, and varied ideas in it to make it interesting. i wouldnt come back to it but it had merit
I will put a 2, just because it's not my style and, frankly 18 songs is a bit to much for me.
insanely catchy, felt like i was watching a movie, don't know why the ratings are so low i feel like some of you just don't know how to have fun
🤷🤷👍👎
Phenomenal album!
Not my typical cup of tea but I liked it.
idk what to think about this one, there were moments i really enjoyed, but it all became a bit samey
Best songs were with Method Man and Inspecta Deck
Raekwon is the weirdest rapper in the Wu Tang Clan, but he is an undeniably powerful rapper nonetheless. Especially with the help of my favorite Wu Tang member, Ghost face Killah, the tracks shine. It feels more like a duo album than a Raekwon album (probably by design). And though the beats aren't all standout, and Raekwon is... well, Raekwon, the lyricism is vivid and tells a story throughout every track.
Its not even that bad but for some reason I just am so impatient listening to this album. Too long and sooo repetitive so it was very boring and I just wanted it to end. 2/5.
It’s crazy how dated some of the 90s hip hop albums on this list sound when you had stuff like this coming out at the same time. While some of the lyrics obviously don’t hold up that well (as is the case for like every pre 2010 rap album), this album would still sound great if it were released today
(2.75)
Pretty good.
Kinda dug this one. A bit long and some of teh in between song nonsense brings the rating down for me. But the depth of lyrics, story telling and various guest appearances by just about everyone puts this one right up there.
Wu-Tang forever
I guess ok
homophobic AND boring. i think there was a song that was slightly interesting but i forgot which.
Top top album - very high 4
Raekwon lyrically and tonally is a bit serious for my tastes, I’d have liked a bit more of a sense of humour, but the command he has of his flow and the hypnotic beats do a lot of heavy lifting. It’s exceptionally well produced and made for a vibey, floaty listen.
Raekwon is getting a low 4 from me, it’s too long and doesn’t all hit but it’s generally v strong throughout and a v worthwhile step out of Wu
Tiger Style!
Pretty unpleasant. Production is good I guess. But not a very comfortable listen to listen with my wife. Imagine she thought it was worse.
Nothing really stood out for me here tbh
We tried listening to this three times. All three times we turned it off because it was horrible. I have no understanding as to why this was included in the list.
the rapping is good. the samples/instrumentation is pretty interesting in all, but it's just one per song for the most part and therefore every song gets very repetitive. make the album 70 minutes long and it is a slog to get through. less can definitely be more. i think there is some great stuff in here and with some editing it could be better. i also do not know who rap skits are for. i have never heard anyone positively mention a rap skit.
Not for me
cool. hiphop. ja also.. idk. 2/5 fühlt sich zu wenig an aber maybe.. hat mi halt iwie nit gecatched.. also halt so gar nit iwie idk.
I bought this album when it was originally released, but I haven't really listened to it much. That tells a story on it's own as I also bought 'Enter the 36 Chambers' on release and then bought anything Wu Tang related for several years, and this album is the only one I didn't get into. I don't know why that is. There's not one single standout track. There's nothing special about it. I enjoyed it, not no more than that.
No thanks. I don't like most modern rap artists but what I hate even more is the older rap album from the 80s and 90s. I only listened to the first 4 or so tracks but I could just feel already that there wasn't going to be anything interesting for me here. Same beats with varying instruments which could be nice but his flow sounds the same for every song too. 1/5
Really like this one! Finally not rock. Ghostface is so charismatic, and what a voice. The whole album sounds like wood grain. Cinematic and cohesive and inventive beats
Hard to beat a hip hop album that has a strong narrative.
Nah.
So, this is a cinematic album, continuing from what Wu-Tang Clan did. My whole experience with this whole crew is a few cuts here and there and going to see their farewell tour last year. I listened to this album only once this time and it needs a proper relisten like many good rap records do. There is a depth in the humour and lyrics that can only be gleaned after a few times of listening. Snatches of different mob movies are throughout. I recognized de Niro but since I generally do subs not dubs, the Killer's words weren't super obvious. Replacing a lot of the Kung Fu films background, there is more orchestral elements such as appeared in Shaft. I guess it was lucky that I heard that before this one came up. I am not sure I would have made that connection otherwise. And of course, some of the "Oriental" influence made its way back into experimental hip hop. See Ninja Tunes. I let most of it wash over me, dipping in and paying close attention to several bars at a time. Also, paying more attention to the skits between. This feels like a reimagining of everyday life for them. Much like NWA, there is a honesty here while putting on the mafia or mob persona that rings true. There is a parallel of taking care of your own. The violence that sometimes exist over doing business while still trying to take care of your community and your family. This is a solid 3. One that I will go back and listen to; hopefully, to get a better grasp of the bars.
Of the top Wu-Tang solo artists, Raekwon probably comes in third for me, way behind GZA (Liquid Swords), and slightly behind Ghostface (Supreme Clientele/ Fishscale). It's still a worthy five star album though. In some ways it's almost too much of a good thing to absorb in the hour long runtime. I do feel there's a slight dip around the halfway mark, but then it picks up again for the last few tracks. However, I also imagine that taking those "slight dip" tracks out in isolation, they would still end up being five star worthy if they existed outside this album.
Pretty decent effort - no stand out tracks /
In this edition of "The Wu-Tang Clan Goes Solo" we've got Raekwon and Ghostface Killah (with RZA on production) collaborating here. Mafioso rap is the name of the game here, as this album is more presented as a movie or a grand story of success. Minus the bloat, this is a well-produced album that, on top of using tasteful sampling, really lets Raekwon and Ghostface (and each of the guests) shine. I don't know if I enjoyed this quite as much as RZA's "Liquid Swords", but it's certainly not far behind.
Ok album
Mostly heard 90s west coast hip-hop, so was refreshing with some 90s east coast rap for a change! Didn't know Raekwon was part of Wu-tang clan, but that's cool. Quite a long runtime on this album, which always makes it harder to keep it tight. In my experiences it also increases the number of songs that are not very good. While this holds true mostly on this album, I still found it very enjoyable despite its long runtime. The beats felt quite minimal, which I really liked. They weren't too busy melodically (hip-hop usually isn't), which made it easy to listen to while working, and gave the whole album a coherent feeling. I liked the more jazz/blues sounding beats like 'Knuckleheadz', 'Can It All Be So Simple', and 'Heaven & Hell'. Apart from all the narrative skit parts (which I always hate), I can't really remember any songs I really disliked. Weak 4!
Good old-school rap album. You can tell it still has a lot of the Wu-Tang magic, and it's obvious that RZA produced it. The beats are some of the strongest from that era, and the rapping is impressive too. While some might find the subject matter a bit trite, I understand that this was their world, and it's what they rap about. My main criticism is that the album is far too long. There's clearly a 4-star album in here, but I think you could cut 30 minutes from it and it would be much better. Still, songs like "Guillotine" and "Ice Cream" warrant a 4-star rating, albeit a weak one.
This is a truly fantastic album. The production throughout is brilliant and it flows beautifully. It could easily be a 5* with multiple listens. Favourites: Knowledge God Criminology Wu-Gambinos
A masterpiece in cinematic mafioso rap. The initial skit sets up the whole story, followed by one of the greatest set of intro verses Rae ever delivered... "We on the crime scene sipping fine wine, pulling nines out. UFOs checking they fly closed, they eyes closed..." Rae is at the absolute top of his game throughout this album, and Ghost is ascending here. The other Wu members pepper this with wicked spice. U-God on Knuckleheadz, Meth's Ice Cream vibes and Deck with perhaps his best verse of all time in Guillotine Swords. "Poisonous paragraphs slash the phonograph in half, it be the Inspectah Deck on the warpath..." Then there's a Nas feature. RZA's production is still top of his game, early 90s Wutang grit. Love the bounce of Knuckleheadz, old horn sample to lead off Criminology before Ghost dives into the lyrics. Rainy Dayz... so many classics here. Overall what this album has is evenness. It's a gritty album, but it stays hard on tone. If you don't like it after two tracks, you won't like it. I don't always listen to this, but on a rainy day in a grump mood albums like this hit the perfect spot. I don't usually love remixes, especially of such a perfect track as 36 Chamber's Can it be So Simple, but this dialed down redo really works. Glaciars of Ice, solid energy. Anyway, I could go on an on about this album, but it's among the best of Wutang, and all rap as well. 5/5
Not a bad album, very hard lyrics. I wouldn't listen again.
More than an hour of pretty much the same song and trope rap. No thanks
The loops are so short, it gets repetitive really fast. The rap is quite aggresive at times.
90’s Hip Hop ⭐️Verbal Intercourse
Mycket stark trea, men når inte till samma höjder som Wu-Tang
Stabilt och med en del featurings som höjer några låtar.
Fortfarande inte min grej, speciellt inte så långt.
Bueno no está mal no me encanta el rap pero entretenido escucharlo
Good album that unfortunately has to live in the shadow of 36 Chambers
Another good excuse to revisit a classic. I love how it's not timeless. It's aged to perfection and only ever could have come from Rae and Ghost and the rest at this time in this place.
not a bad album but just not for me fave - can it all be so simple
Will listen deeper 3
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... es una obra de arte atemporal y una de las cumbres narrativas más imponentes de la era dorada del hip-hop, demostrando por qué ha envejecido bien como un clásico cinematográfico. Desde el punto de vista del diseño sonoro, la producción es una genialidad áspera; a través de samples de películas de artes marciales, diálogos criminales y pianos melancólicos, se entretejen bien la atmósfera mafiosa y el asfalto frío de Nueva York. No es un álbum complaciente: el sonido es agresivo y cortante, un crudo reflejo de la urgencia y el peligro de las calles. A nivel de métrica y estructura, el disco desafía las convenciones comerciales, pues no es fácil seguir el ritmo debido a sus bases pesadas, oscuras y síncopas impredecibles que rompen con lo bailable para inducir una tensión constante. Sobre este complejo lienzo sónico, Raekwon y Ghostface Killah despliegan una fuerza y autoridad lírica superior, intercambiando rimas complejas con una sincronía perfecta. Un trabajo conmovedor, crudo y real que exige una escucha atenta, ideal para momentos de reflexión solitaria ante una narrativa de gran calibre.
89/100. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... by Raekwon is an exceptional solo project from one of the iconic members of the Wu-Tang Clan. With its tight beats, impressive bars, and clever skits, the album sails by effortlessly. Despite its 73-minute runtime, it maintains a brisk, engaging pace from start to finish. Truly iconic.
Favorite track(s): Knowledge God, Criminology, Guillotine (Swordz), Glaciers of Ice, Verbal Intercourse, Ice Cream
Had it on in the background, so wasn't paying much attention to the lyrics - but the bits that stuck out to me were the misogynistic or homophobic parts. It was part of the culture at the time - which still doesn't make it OK - but it particularly jars now. Didn't know this previously and probably wouldn't return to it.
Continue to enjoy this sort of hip-hop. I'd love to take time to listen to this album again, and really pull the whole story out. A concept album that actually lands very well.
Kinda faded into the background as it went on. I typically don’t vibe with most older rap music, but this wasn’t too bad. I’m sure his influence is grand but I just wasn’t listening to this music at the time to understand it.
Classic
So old school wie Hoogwards
4/5
I just didn't like it. I don't think it's bad but, like a lot of rap and hip hop this app has sent my essay, it's not for me. It's not music for a generic white Scottish guy. Not bad, but not for me.
I've been getting a lot of "final albums" lately. It's really starting to set in that I'm getting close to finishing this album project. Wow. Anyways, here we have my final Wu-Tang album of the project, Raekwon's 1995 classic Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... This is one of the most acclaimed Wu-Tang solo albums and for good reason. This thing is so good. Admittedly, it's not the best Wu-Tang album I've heard. I do prefer Enter the Wu-Tang and even Liquid Swords over this, but this album is right behind them in 3rd place. I think this one's just a little long for my liking. But that's not the biggest deal on the planet when the material that we're working with is as great as it is. RZA's production is as excellent as ever. The mafia aesthetic makes for a very engaging album listen, with songs like "Ice Cream" and "Guillotine (Swordz)" keeping you hooked the whole way through. I don't think Raekwon is my personal favorite member of the Wu-Tang Clan, but he still proves that he's very capable of carrying an album on his own, though the features are, of course, welcome. As is to be expected, most other Wu-Tang Clan members appear on this thing, with Ghostface Killah appearing on 12 of the album's 18 songs, making him an official guest for the album at large. You know what? I'm not complaining. Plus, "Verbal Intercourse" has the first ever non-Wu-Tang feature on a Wu-Tang solo album with a Nas feature! Hell yeah! The feature is amazing too. I mean, this was only a year after Illmatic, so Nas was still on a whole other level lyrically. The writing of the album hasn't aged 100% perfectly, but it still hits pretty hard to this day. I really don't have much to complain about. Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... is a certified classic. It's not my favorite Wu-Tang solo album, but I can see why it would be #1 for someone else. It's great. High 4/5.
More music less talking! ;)
Classic.
I loved this, cool with audio interjections that built a story
Wu-Tang offshoot. Good, but definitely not for me. Pitchfork: 10.0 Rolling Stone: Top 500 Albums #219
Striving for Perfection 2.7 Knuckleheadz 3 Knowledge God 2.9 Criminology 3.1 Incarcerated Scarfaces 3 Rainy Dayz 3.2 Guillotine (Swordz) 2.8 Can It Be All So Simple (Remix) 3 Shark Niggas (Biters) n/a Ice Water 2.9 Glaciers of Ice 3.3 Verbal Intercourse 2.8 Wisdom Body 3 Spot Rusherz 2.7 Ice Cream 3.3 Wu-Gambinos 2.6 Heaven & Hell 3.3 Score: 2.975
This was a long album. Not my style. I found myself just trying to get through it.
My kingdom for fewer skits.
The way the first one flows is INSANE. Probably the best rhymes i;ve ever heard in music. I think a pet peeve of mine is albums with long "talking """songs"""" interspersed, so I was worried at first but turns out it's fine. Overall it;s alright. Didn;t finish so that's on me
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx is the debut solo album from Raekwan, member of the Wu-Tang Clan. The album includes appearances from most of the Wu-Tang members, and an appearance by Nas, which was the first non-affiliated appearance on any Wu-Tang related album. Only Built ... is regarded as among the best of the Wu-Tang solo projects, and among the best hip-hop albums of all time. Raekwon created a concept album; Only Built ... (commonly referred to as "Purple Tape," from the entirely purple cassette released) tells the story of two dealers that are tired of the hustle, and are considering one last score. While the production trends toward the minimal, the storytelling makes the album worth several listens.
Meh
298/1089 a very fine hip hop album, another case of, glad i listened to it and i enjoyed listening but i’m not really interested in going back to it faves: Knuckleheadz, Heaven & Hell, North Star (Jewels) 54/100
1 - not for me
So this started off with a negative impression - the dialogue of the first track just babbling nonsense f this and n that. It then settled down some, more or less a mid-version of mid 90s west coast hip hop, at least as far as my less experienced ears are concerned (lots of tracks sound like that Snoop-Doggy-Daawgh song). So I’m waiting for something notable or interesting. And then a spoken track Shark N-word comes on and I last about 20 seconds. Record over, I’m done. Don’t need to hear anything more. I am far from a prude. And I think in certain setting language like that can be effective in conveying a certain emotion or make a point. But when you aren’t really saying nothing at all then why do it? It’s the equivalent of 13 year olds sitting around bragging about their Fortnight skills. Pure shit. And I refuse to listen to it. 1/5
Pretty decent as far as 90s hip hop goes i just dont see how this stands out from other acts at the time honestly. I found the album to get a bit boring after the first few songs but theres still some good material here definetly 7/10 Favourite: Can It Be All So Simple (Remix) Least Favourite: Spot Rusherz
Me costó conectarlo pero suena como la pre de Wu tang. Buenas bases y se siente la historia de pandikka de redención
Fucking skits man. They honestly ruin everything. I dont even know how to properly evaluate because I'll be enjoying the album, skit comes along, I lose concentration, look at the track listing and see ive got 45 mins left. Apparently its 10 mins of skits. That's mental. Ten full minutes of fucking skits
First Wu-Tang/Wu-Tang member album. I found the entire thing quite long, it felt very bloated. Which seems to be the case with my experience with gangsta rap. Because it's a long album it's hard to remember anything that even slightly stands out, but I do remember that I found the first third of the album to be my favourite third of the album. I also remember liking the instrumental of "Knuckleheadz," I thought it was really well done. This album was a good experience in learning the voices of Raekwon and Ghostface Killah and some hints of the other members, I hope it will help when I'm called up to listen to 36 Chambers. Highlight Song/s: "Knuckleheadz" and "Guillotine (Swordz)"
(4/7) I'd seen this guy's name before but always assumed he was Korean
One of the greatest hip hop albums of all time!
need to listen to this again to really appreciate it. i'm not in the headspace to do so right now and to truly devote myself to understanding it.
Finns det noll på skalan?
Wu tang style... Purple tape es el debut de Raekwon, que cuenta sobre todo con la participación de un fenómeno como Nas. Pionero y una influencia esencial en el Gansta rap, uno de los géneros que menos me gusta del hip-hop, pero mérito tiene de sobra. Aclamado, pero no es mi estilo. RZA está, como siempre , soberbio.
solo debut album of raekwon, who is... you guessed it, another wu-tang clan member. it's interesting hearing efforts from all the men when they go solo... even if one still features other members of the group. pretty straightforward compared to the other guys. big boom-bap beats, strings, and samples from kung-fu and mafia flicks. many songs tell a bit of a story, and occasionally there's some spoken word interludes too. i think this is another case of... objectively really good, but doesn't stand out in my mind too much. and the more wu-tang i get introduced to, it just adds more to the already big pile. also this album is a little longgggg...
Yeah I was not fcking with this one, ca tourne en rond, getting bored real fast with more than an hour of the same songs. You cannot stay on the same shouting tone for an hour, who can listen to this fully without having a seizure ? Trying to do and say way too much. Cover : It's not it
I see the influence it has, not my favorite rap album but it’s ok
It’s hard to rate 90s rap because I’m not of the culture, so I can’t really contextualize it the way it’s meant to be heard. That said, I’ve enjoyed these Wu-Tang albums, even if I don’t really “get” it.
I went to see Corrosion of Conformity and Clutch last night cause I like the rock and the roll. How Deliverance isn't on this list is just another WTF Dimery moment. All that to say, this album is a tough listen on 5 hours of sleep, mostly I heard a barrage of n words and gun shots while I was chugging coffee. I gave it another listen this evening while relaxing in the backyard, man this album kicks ass. I really dig the martial arts sound effects. I think this is my 5th Wu Tang related album and I have to say they're probably the best rap/hip hop group of all time. So much so that I'm thinking about naming my next dog Wu Tang or Bitches Can't Front On That.
bon bad la flemme et puis ça y est arretez les interludes bastons
j'ai pas la tête au rap en ce moment, j'ai dû essayer 8x de le jouer au complet. Au risque de me répéter, les rappers s'aideraient s'ils faisaient pas à chaque fois des albums de 1h15+. Okay les loops et le drums sont groovys par moment, mais je suis complètement soûlé.
Un autre classique de la grande Famille du Wu-Tang. Je connais peu cet album mais ça groove tellement je peux pas m'empêcher de bouncer. Et j'adore le Flow de Ghostface Killah qui est très présent sur l'album. Mais je doit dire que préféré de ce monde est Liquid Swords, de GZA, qui arrivera certainement d'ici la fin du projet. Le master lyricist du groupe!
One of the best rap albums of all time.
the people on this website are so funny bro. this goes hard as fuck.
Very good! What a golden age that was for rap/hip hop...
No offense, but I can’t waste my time on more explicit vulgar content. Didn’t listen.
Rap is the one genre of music I just can't connect with no matter how hard I try. I'm not even sure how to write a review..... I didn't like it. Yeah son! No what I'm sayin'?!
I love Wu-Tang, but I cannot say that I have given individual members’ projects the attention they deserve. Honestly, you can make a lifetime of sifting through that entire catalogue. So it’s nice to have the opportunity to dig in to some excellent hip-hop by an excellent MC and his compatriots. Most enjoyable. More hip-hop, please!
This was a blind spot in my Wu Tang listening, so delighted to correct that. Loved it from the start. The soundtrack concept works, there's a real cinematic feeling, and I love the beats and rapping and production. Has to be up there with Liquid Swords as one of the best solo WTC albums.
probably 3.5 but rounding up because, well, wu tang
Listened in the car. Never was a big Wu Tang fan, and this album isn't doing much to change my mind. I completely didn't get the cinematic framing and to me it sounded like an hour of Raekwon and the rest of Wu Tang Clan rapping about how great they are. Give me NWO over these guys any day of the week.
This kind of rap is not for me
This was hard and not really something I would listen to again, however I can appreciate the good raps and the good beats. I don't have to love something to recognize this was impressive.
The beats on this weren't really doing anything for me, and I just didn't connect with the album at all unfortunately.
Certified classic
Nothing to see here. Maybe even less appealing than Method Man's "Tical" which was unbearably tedious. Every "song" starts with some dude talking ("n-word, n-word, shit motherfucker etc.) over a background of some lofi tape mishap. It's a formula and it sucks. Y'all SUCKAS listenin' this shit
Pretty average rap music. I don’t know why I need to listen to this. My live would be more perfect without doing so.
This sort of album cover, complete with the "parental advisory" label, tends to be a fairly bad omen. Not to mention it's also terrible as a standalone piece of art. Do these guys think they look cool? Replacing "s" with "z" in the album title and several song titles is also dated and cringeworthy. Get better, Raekwon. It's pretty hilarious that "golden age hip-hop" artists are forced to add little whimsical semi-catchy elements to their music (such as the little keyboard licks in Knuckleheadz and Knowledge God, the vaguely melodic singing in Rainy Dayz covering that terrible screechy noise, the muted trumpet line in Verbal Intercourse...) to distract from the fact that the lyrics are the most horrific things ever uttered. "Yo, lay on the crime scene, sipping fine wines, pulling .9s on UFOs, taking they fly clothes, they eyes closed / We getting loot, no doubt, check the word of mouth / Unheard about, guns go off and now a murder route / I'm out, my raps play the part like a Get Smart secret agent." ...Okay? What am I supposed to do with this? Agree with it, and then get (rightfully) arrested for conspiracy to commit murder? Other than psychopaths, who the hell is supposed to relate to this? Not to mention the production is weak – particularly that of the percussion, which is far too compressed for its own good. I don't like the vocal delivery, either; "All bitches are the same, just like my hoes, you know / I keep 'em broke / Wake up one mornin' with some money / They're subject to go crazy you know? / I keep 'em lookin good, pretty and all that / You know, but no dough / When I get a bitch, I got a bitch." Holy shit. Put this misogynistic creep behind bars. Heaven & Hell is the strongest track here, because it actually sounds okay. But it's one of the few that does. I've been hijacking a lot of reviews lately. They speak my mind better than I ever could: "Too much aggressive fronting and misogyny for me this early in the morning. I cannot connect with or relate to any of this and the album artwork is an assault on my eyes." 1/5 Key tracks: Criminology, Ice Cream, Heaven & Hell
sooooooo boring so boring
First time listening, and can't believe I hadn't come across it before. An hour's worth of good beats and quickfire storytelling passes quickly - excellent album
Raekwon you have to stop. your smoke too tough. your swag too different. your bitch too bad. they’ll kill you
Actually really liked this. Some great sounds and a great rapper
Decent old school 90's rap, enjoyable but not a standout in my mind (comparing to illmatic, or other great albums). Some intense cut scenes of someone getting shot was interesting. Fave song: Can it be all so simple, Ice Cream
Nice background music for traveling between floors in a high-rise
Not that bad but I didnt any
pretty peak
A member of the Wu-Tang Clan with a solo album. Includes special guests: The Wu-Tang Clan!
I like I like, criminology and heaven & hell were my fav. It went on a bit long for my taste tho
album #36 pros: this album is fantastically produced and clearly a huge influence on ensuing rap albums. it's got interesting lyrical storytelling, with some sick features. the sampling throughout the album is great fun, especially the beginning of "wu-gambinos". cons: this album suffers the fate of many 90s albums - it's too bloated, which reduces it's impact a bit especially since the second half is so strong. some of the references are also a bit lost on me, but i think this is more because i'm not from the US lol. neither pro nor con: the second half of the album is by far my favourite and feels the strongest, execution-wise. i can understand why the first half is there, but boy the b-sides are *so* strong. i feel this is an album you need to listen to more than once to fully appreciate. overall, it's a good album that deserves its place on the list but just isn't my taste as much. ꩜ average track rating: 2.7/5 ꩜ favourite track(s): ice water, wu-gambinos, wisdom body ꩜ least favourite track(s): the skits ꩜ album rating: ★★★☆☆ ꩜ number of albums left to review: 1,053 ꩜ number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 23 (+1 Only Bult 4 Cuban Linx) ꩜ albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 9 ꩜ albums from the list I won't include on my list: 27
El primer album de hip hop que realmente ,me parecio un bodrio. Nota: 2.7
Solid but thought it'd be more of a classic
I’m no fan of rap and hip hop, but of all the albums on this list it’s the Wu Tang adjacent ones that are the best. This is ok.
So flagrantly unappealing- non-melodious and repetitive, overlong and dated. The instrumentals were weak. The verses were so uncharismatic. The gimmick works when the entire WTC are together. Favoring one member over the rest results in tedious garbage like this
Ok, he likes king fu
Fucking A! This shit is great, I started moving away from Rap in the mid 90s. I was late to the party with Wu Tang. I’m embarrassed that I had never heard this one. Great beats. Great voices. Great content. Fuck The Black Album
The Wu Tang solo spin-offs have never really jived with me, and I have a hard time relating to this one.
The album was fine, I can definitely see how it influenced things that came after, but overall didn't enjoy it. This era of music is always tough for me. Nothing I would listen to again unfortunately even though it seems foundational.
fun!
One of my favorite Wu-Tang solo efforts. I have to be in the right mood for it, but the production and vibe is immaculate.
I listened to it for a bit. I waited for it to grow on me. The lyrics certainly meet the Parental Advisory explicit warning. Some of them were clever but I did get a little tired of hearing of his enormous penis, and his sexual exploits.
Quite possibly the best solo (but not really, because Ghost is almost always there) rap album of all time. A thematic triumph with some of RZA's best production work throughout.
Not for me
Eh.
It was good, but no outstanding track, a lot of talking over
Struggled with this one
This is a good one off listen.
Hit after hit
I’ve always been a fan of Tiger style Wu-Tang forever! 3.5 stars
I tire of gangsta style hip hop quickly.
Not for me
Some pretty good mid 90s rap that I hadn't before. Highlights: "Knuckleheadz" and "Can It All Be So Simple"
okay for what it is but I'm not a rap fan...
90s hip hop. Debut by Wu Tang member. Mafioso rap. Interesting beats, a lot of samples.
Not very good! Production is the only saving grace, really.
goed voor het wegjagen van allerhande ongedierte in de tuin...
Eliminate all the name drops, and you've got a streamlined, 38 minute album.
I am bumping this up to three stars. Bad language and would only listen to this in private, but I liked the bass lines, the harmonies, and his voice. Three stars.
naja
Another member of the Wutang clan has hit the 1001 albums before you die playlist. A bit to much homophobia on this one, we get it your straight but man using the f slur a hundred times doesn’t really get the point across. Anything with Method Man is fantastic. 5/10
So far, this is the second album I've listened to containing the f slur. Please tell me there aren't any more. Please. Why are albums filled with pure bigotry able to be considered the best albums of all time? Shit like this makes me almost want to quit this project.
That’s not music, that’s toilet noise.
For what it is it's alright. I like he backing tracks and the rapping is acceptable. Very long though.
This was very much not for me. I don’t enjoy this genre much regularly and this was no exception. I wanted to rate it higher, but even the beats and music were rather one-note and not interesting. I didn’t care for the lyrics. And it was entirely too long. 1/5
not my kind of rap and the interludes are quite annoying.
Didn't really connect with it. Some nice samples and beats, but lyrically didn't catch my interest. 2.5
Could it be that it was all so simple that this is A+ hip hop? Maybe 2nd only to Liquid Swords as far as Wu solo albums.Still cuts like a knife.
A little ashamed to admit this is another Wu solo album I was not very familiar with. Classic Wu-Tang production and rhymes. Top-notch '90s hip-hop here.
Klinkt goed, gaaf album, maar teveel van hetzelfde en daardoor echt te lang.
Not for me. Just don’t get it. 1
★★½
I'd say its the 4th best Wu solo record. Still a 5.
3.5/5. My first Wutang-Adjacent album on the generator and it’s solid! I don’t like it as much as 36 chambers or some of the other Wutang solo albums, but there’s still a number of good songs on here and the production/beats are mostly great. it is maybe a bit overlong though and it suffers from the homophobia that was unfortunately very prevalent in rap music at this time. But when everything comes together it works really well and there’s no denying this albums influence over east-coast hip hop.
disappointing
Classic 90s hip hop
This is a pretty solid ’90s hip-hop album. With Ghostface Killah featured on most of the tracks, it almost feels like a another Ghostface album at times. It doesn’t really have a standout track, but as a whole it delivers a consistently good vibe and is an enjoyable listen.
I was never a fan of the repetitive beat no matter how great the text, I did not listen to the whole album. I stopped early on. This vote should not matter to anyone who likes this musical style
Not terrible, but drags on too long. A couple of good tracks here, but it's dragged down by the shit ones.
6/10… gangsta rap / hip-hop/ *1995
we are popping guns etc i do not have the energy for this right now. beats are good tho
this felt like it was three hours long
On the positive side I really enjoyed the RZA's production with some great beats/ samples and I also enjoyed Raekwon's delivery alongside a lot of quality cameos that kept everything pumping. On the negative side - its too long and the skits are way too long and way too sweary and lyrical content was a bit tiresome and not my bag and any sense of story was lost on me.
Only Built 4 Cuban Linx For an album cut from similar cloth to Liquid Swords, this didn’t immediately land with me in the same way that album did, but it’s still a great RZA produced WTC adjacent album, and is definitely a bit of a slow burner. I do love Raekwon’s distinctive delivery, part drawl, part exaggerated plosives, and it’s great when the rest of WTC turn up, in particular Ghostface Killah on Criminology, Guillotine and Heaven & Hell, and with Method Man on the excellent Ice Cream. I really like the loose cinematic concept tying it all together, informing RZAs production - a great combination of murky filmicness and dusty beats. Apart from the remix of Can It All Be So Simple, there probably isn’t anything as immediate as Liquid Swords or Hell’s Wind, but the more you listen, the more tracks burrow their way in; the looped piano hook on Knuckleheadz, the stabbed strings and piano of Knowledge God, the odd little hook and shivering strings of Guillotine, the harpsichord sample on Glaciers of Ice, the tense, highly strung piano and vocal sample on Ice Cream and the flowing, laid back groove of Heaven & Hell. It’s a pretty dense album, musically and lyrically, at times feeling slightly impenetrable, but it is an excellent listen. I wouldn’t put it on the same level as Liquid Swords or Enter the 36 Chambers so I’ll go with a very high 4. 🔗🔗🔗🔗 Playlist submission: Ice Cream
A big overlap with Wu Tang, piano samples, slightly dissonant sound. So when Raekwon gives a lecture about not copying him and being original ('Shark [Fellas]'), there's actually very little original here not already attempted by Wu Tang. Inevitable, given RZA is the driving force behind all the beats/sampling (even the seemingly ever present sample 'Can It All Be So Simple' is used). It influenced gangsta rap, which will forever be it's millstone, but it well conveys the grime of NYC in the late 80s/early 90s (alongside Wu Tang albums, Liquid Swords and Tical). Yet often these solo albums feel they are missing the power of the collective, and the grounding fraternal humour that stops everyone getting too big for their boots. Humour is completely absent here and Raek genuinely revels in being like a Mafia boss, which is manosphere behaviour. There's also a continuing appreciation for Trump in hip hop of the 90s ('Incarcerated Scarfaces') which has aged about as well as Sharon Osbourne. Still decent though.
Not my favourite from the Wu-Tang collective
I like WuTang a lot and Raekwon is one of my favorite members. Some really great songs and production throughout but just way too long.
Great album. Favorite tracks: Can It All Be So Simple, Verbal Intercourse, North Star. Shout out to the beat in Can It Be All So Simple for sounding like the foundation for Dive into the Mellow (Aquatic Mine) from Sonic Adventure 2.
I don't know it, read top review. "mafioso rap"? Put in bin now to save time? No, I will listen, it might have music I like. (I don't automatically hate all gangsta rap - I can listen to eg drill when the music is good enough.) What I get hear seems like a lot of yelling in my face, without much music. This album is very, very rap oriented - I like my hip hop when music is a central part of the action (then lyrics I might like are a plus) - in this case I don't get much at all from the music, and the lyrics on this album are not remotely attractive to me. If you like Raekwon, you might like this, but for me it's Bad, 1/10.
good album, 3 stars
Not my style but it was good rap
I forget how skit-heavy 90’s hip-hop was. Genius move by RZA to negotiate individual deals for the member of Wu-Tang. How many other members are on this list?
I think I just have to come to terms with the fact that Wu-Tang just isn't my jam. I find the beats to be too lo-fi, the vocals to be too monotone with very few choruses.
40# I wanted to like this but it was not hitting and the boom bap beats when i was listening with a headache were not good for them. I'll have to listen another time.
I know Raekwon is super influential in hip-hop but I wasn’t vibing with this - I did however thoroughly enjoy ‘Wu-Gambinos’ and ‘Heaven & Hell’.
Não é para mim.
This RZA album is fantastic.
This album was pretty damn terrible until like the final two tracks and then it was like “damn alrighttttt here’s the sauce”. I don’t think a two song run 70mins into an album can save it, ad the rest is pretty mediocre 90’s hip hop but whatever. I’ve heard better stuff from nearly everyone on this album.
There's really not much in here for me to enjoy. The flow is pretty bad (in my opinion), and the lyrical content isn't that great, either (misogyny). The album was a complete drag, too, which is never great. Some of the samples were alright, and Nas is cool, so idk.
Too much talking, then mediocre music. Even the decent songs are just insufferable (e.g Guillotine) 3/10
Not bad, not good. Middling hip-hop album for me. Enjoyed some stuff, and totally missed me with some others. Nothing that really stood out